Kosel Video.

New track from my main man in Poland, Kosel. Tape coming on Altered States in the near future. This guy is killing it.

New Roman Nails (Night People) + Dry Mouth (Chemical Imbalance).

New tapes available soon from two hibernating projects. Roman Nails - Chiseler on Night People (US) and Dry Mouth - TBA on Chemical Imbalance (Australia). Stream it and cream it below.

Maggotfest VII / Sunday 30th October.

Kneeling Knave Review On Down And Out.

Read in context here.

Altered States Tapes Bigcartel + Distro.

Following some technical issues, the AST bigcartel is now up and operational. The new batch is also available from Lulu's and Polyester. Repressed will be stocked later in the week.

New AST Batch: TV.OUT, Új Bála, Oil + Consulate.

AST064: TV.OUT – “THE FORTH DIMENSION” C42

Following a phenomenal tape on Russian label, Isaiah Tapes and an equally captivating 12” on Parallax, Tel Aviv’s TV.OUT have become one of my most listened to electronic acts of the year. On “The Forth Dimension”, TV.OUT’s repetitious and insidious bangers form one of the best releases I’ve had the pleasure of releasing on the label. There’s the fried bass of something like Container, but what this duo are doing is something totally unique.

AST065: ÚJ BÀLA – “BUTCHER’S TEARS DRY SLOWER THAN THE AVERAGE ONE’S” C36

Új Bála is the alias under which Budapest’s Gabor Kovacs has been making tweaked electronic music for the last few years. I had been oblivious to his work until a demo appeared in my inbox. And what a ripper. In a recent Wire review, Kovacs’ work was described as summoning “the rythmic skeletons of minimal techno to bring order to his backdrop of mangeld synth noises… patterns of alien keyboards and sampled detritus colour the walls”. Alien could not be a more apt descriptor, “Butcher’s Tears” is a truly fried listen, so it makes total sense to appear on Altered States.

AST066: OIL – “UNTITLED” C35

Untitled is the debut tape from Matt Spiz, local Melbourne legend and gear hoarder. These recordings have been laying dormant for close to a year, but have aged crisply in that time. Oil takes a magpie approach to electronic music, blending elements of electro, vocal samples and more ambient styles into a vat, coming out with a nice, solid ooze.

AST067: CONSULATE – “DISPATCHES” C38

Consulate is Perth’s Alex Campbell, also one half of heavy hitters, Senate (Pacific Command). As Consulate, Campbell released a savage debut on Berlin label Portals Editions last year. “Dispatches” retains the thick, brooding atmosphere of “Black Narcissus”, but eschews much in the way of an obvious beat throughout. Instead, “Dispatches” is focused on samples centred on conflict in Vietnam. Dark times.

Kneeling Knave Review On Noise Receptor + NSW Shows.

Live Photo: Bus Projects.

Review of "The Messiah Complex / Involuntary Admission" 7" on Noise Receptor.

Sydney + Newcastle shows in a few weeks:

Kneeling Knave Review In The Wire October 2016.

Cazazza in jodhpurs, sure I'll take that.

Cooper Bowman - Farewell Waltz Download / Tape.

A new cassette of loops recorded using a Yamaha PSS-780 and little else. Download available via bandcamp. I guess this is more soundtrack kinda stuff, works well for folding washing to or doing the dishes. Available from Lulu's now + Repressed sometime this week. New batch out this week.

Puce Mary Melbourne Show Tonight.

Event page.

Nina Buchanan + Kneeling Knave At The Post Office Hotel.

Flyer by Richard Costa, event here.

Recent Releases On Bandcamp.

The last batch of tapes (Coarses, Gaud, Nicky Crane + Takahiro Mukai) as well as the Kneeling Knave 7" are available for free download from bandcamp. Already looking toward the next batch; a debut tape from Sydney's WDK, Budapest's Új Bála, Berlin's Circular Ruins + others. Thanks for listening.

Collector LP Launches / Melbourne / August 2016.

August 25th, Hugs N Kisses w/ Dead Boomers / Kneeling Knave + DJ Caitlin Hurik. Event here.

August 27th, The Catfish w/ Nerve (12" Launch) / Nicky Crane / Regional Curse. Event here.

Collector's "Triple Crown" LP is forthcoming on new label, Drawing Heat Records.

Kneeling Knave - "The Messiah Complex / Involuntary Admission" 7" Available.

Lathe-cut 7" limited to 50 copies. Layout by Mark Groves. 12 bucks + postage or pickup can be arranged in Melbourne. Apologies for the high price, but that is what it cost to produce unfortunately.

Email: alteredstatestapes@gmail.com for further information.

Kneeling Knave 7" Track Streaming.

More info on the project here.

"The Messiah Complex / Involuntary Admission" 7" lathe available next week, limited to 50 copies.

"Plastic Parts" Artzine Available Now.

Plastic Parts is a new zine of photocopier art. Layout by Mark Groves, images by Cooper Bowman. Pro-printed, limited to 50 copies. $4 + post.

Previous zine "Serene Fullerene" is sold out from me. But may still be available from Motto Books (Berlin) and World Food Books (Melbourne).

New AST Batch: Gaud, Nicky Crane, Takahiro Mukai + Coarses.

AST058: GAUD - "BRAINED" c26

As Gaud, Nick Kuceli has released some of my favourite local releases of the last few years via Future Archaic and Distort. On "Brained", Gaud drives home his long-form techno over three tracks. He continues to hone his sound, working with a limited palette of a laptop, Sherman filter bank, 303 clone + effects. This shit is a wormhole that you can easily get lost in.

AST061: NICKY CRANE - "UNTITLED" c20

This is the latest in the Australian purveyor of cooked electronic music's refreshingly progressive releases. Relatively similar equipment-wise to his excellent CD from last year on Rhythm Works (drum machine, dictaphone + effects), this tape is truly unique and done with a bent sense of humour. Live, NC has crafted some of the best sets I've seen over the last year. The monkey can play.

AST062: TAKAHIRO MUKAI - "GRANULAR JELLY" c40

Japan's Takahiro Mukai has been busy over the last two years. He has produced some excellent releases of fractured rhythmic electronics on various tape labels, including Spain's Paralaxe Editions. Here, he presents thoroughly eroded beats and stuttered synths.

AST063: COARSES - "0X001" c38

I came across some videos of this guy playing Korg Electribes a few months ago and got in touch with him to see if he recorded much. His name is Jason Cook and he hails from somewhere in the Midwest of America. Within a few weeks he'd produced this tape of well-studied techno and harsher, drone-based recordings.

Bandcamp Update.

The Altered States Bandcamp has been updated with the last two batches. Includes releases by 2200, Germany Army, Siobhan, Luke Holland, L. Lerkenfeldt + Cooper Bowman. Some of the most legit stuff I've released so far I'd say. No cover art yet, but I'll get on it soon.

As usual, they're free, but chop me out a few dollars to put towards the next batch if you're feeling charitable. Speaking of, tapes by Nicky Crane, Gaud, Coarses + Takahiro Mukai will be available imminently.

AST At Lulu's / CB - Taśma Bagno Tape.

Out of print Altered States releases available from Lulu's, including tapes from German Army, 2200, Siobhan, Luke Holland, L. Lerkenfeldt + Cooper Bowman.

Also available is a new CB tape titled "Taśma Bagno" (top right). Some info: Taśma Bagno (roughly, "swamp tape") was released with a day's notice by excellent Polish experimental label, Wounded Knife, for a CB show in Warsaw in a numbered edition of 20 copies. I've done an Altered States repress of another 20 for Australian punters. Tape + synth loops. No catalogue number.

Tape Projects / April 8th.

CB Show In Warsaw.

European Distribution / Shows / News.

                                        

Altered States Tapes releases + artzine available from the excellent Motto Books in Berlin. Brando's Island 7"s also available from Static Shock Berlin.

European shows:

Berlin last week.

Finland next week.

New batch released imminently. 

Also, I've made an instagram for AST, check it out if videos of me playing synths and other minutiae is of interest to you: @alteredstatestapes

New AST Batch: Siobhan, German Army, 2200 + Artzine.

AST057: SIOBHAN – “TWILIGHT PHONE” c22

Detroit native Travis Galloway has released some of my favourite tapes of the last few years on labels such as Nostilevo and Opal Tapes. Immensely fried and caked in grit, Twilight Phone is Siobhan at it’s best. Samples of guitar and plundered songs interrupt the five short narratives featured here. How Galloway makes this stuff sound the way it does is beyond me, he’s got it nailed.

AST059: GERMAN ARMY – “GONE IN LUXURY” c28

German Army are a hard act to describe. Across their vast catalogue of releases, they have shifted into numerous forms. Gone In Luxury sees them operating as self-professed producers of “noise”. But don’t let that fool you into thinking they are dealing in static, there are rhythms and tracks of accumulative looped madness here. Another curveball.

AST060: 2200 – “BLACK IRON” c22

Under various guises, Rory McPike killed it last year. Either bringing it to the club as Dan White or creating mutated electro and post-punk fuelled mayhem as 2200. Here McPike appears in the latter incarnation. Black Iron is a departure from his 2015 12” on Cult Trip, showing a simultaneously harsh and pounding sound.



Also available is a small-run pro-printed zine titled Serene Fullerene. Layout by Mark Groves, images by me. Some of this stuff will appear on upcoming AST releases.